The Story of James and Lily Potter
by harrypotterfangirl13
Summary: This story is about James and Lily Potter from the time they started Hogwarts to the time of their deaths.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Lily Evans ran down her street and up the path to her front door. Hands shaking slightly, she pulled her key out of her pocket and let herself in.

"Lily? Petunia? Is that you?" a voice called.

"It's me," Lily called back, walking into the living room with her hands clasped in front of her. Her mother smiled at her from the couch where she was sitting.

"Hello, Lily. Where's your sister? Did you have a good time at the playground?"

Lily swallowed. "I think she's on her way back, but it happened again, Mum."

"What happened?" a deep voice asked from behind Lily. Turning, she saw her father standing in the doorway, looking mildly curious. He walked further in the room, dropping a kiss on Lily's dark red hair as he passed. Lily swallowed again, her throat dry and her heart pounding. Would her parents be angry with her for what she'd done. Her mother had expressly told her not to do it while she and her sister were at the playground. "What happened, Lily?" her father asked gently, his green eyes searching hers.

"We were on the swings," Lily began in a small voice. "And I wanted to go higher. So I let go and I, I flew." She watched her parents with wide, frightened eyes. Lily's mother let out a gasp, her hand flying to her mouth.

"You flew?" her father questioned, eyebrows raised. Lily nodded.

"Tuney got angry. And then I saw a flower and made its petals move and turn different colors. Tuney shouted at me that I was weird and different, so I left." Lily looked down at the ground, ashamed.

Her mother sighed quietly. "How do you do it, Lily?" she asked.

"Do what?" Lily looked up.

"Fly, make flowers turn different colors, and everything else."

"I don't know, Mum. Am I a freak?"

"Of course you're not, dear," her father answered. "You're special. There's nothing wrong with that, it just takes people by surprise."

Before Lily could answer, the door opened and Petunia stalked in.

"Tuney," their mother began, but Petunia had already headed up to her room. Lily's mother sighed. "She'll calm down later."

As Mrs. Evans was heading into the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Frowning, she headed for the door and opened it. "Hello, can I help you?" she asked, then faltered when she saw the man on her doorstep.

Lily, who had come up behind her mother, gasped and put a hand to her mouth.

The man standing there was tall and thin. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. He wore a rather flamboyant suit as well. "Good afternoon," he said pleasantly. "I am looking for miss Lily Evans."

"Me?" squeaked Lily.

The man smiled at her. "Ah, so you are Lily. My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore." He held his hand out to her. Uncertainly, she took it, eyes wide.

"What do you want with Lily?" demanded Mr. Evans, coming up behind Lily and glaring suspiciously at the man in his doorway.

Calmly, Dumbledore withdrew an envelope from his pocket. The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.

Lily gasped. The letter was addressed to her! Without thinking, she reached out and snatched it from Dumbledore's hand.

"Lily!" warned her father, but she ignored him. Turning the envelope over with shaking hands, she saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms, a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.

"What is this?" demanded Mrs. Evans, who was looking over Lily's shoulder.

"May I come in?" asked Dumbledore. Slowly, Mrs. Evans stepped aside, drawing Lily with her, and allowed the stranger to enter the hallway.

"What's this about?" demanded Mr. Evans.

"I have come to offer Lily a place at my school," Professor Dumbledore explained.

"What school? Where is it? Why Lily?" Mrs. Evans asked in a rush.

"It is called Hogwarts, and it is located in Scotland. We believe Lily has the qualities we value in our students."

"What kind of school is it?" pressed Mr. Evans.

"It is a school of magic."

Lily stopped dead. Her mouth fell open, and she thought her eyes would fall out they were so wide. "Magic?" she breathed. "Is that what it is, the things I can do? It's magic?"

"What sort of things?" inquired Dumbledore.

"I can make things fly and turn different colors. When I get angry, strange stuff happens to whoever is bothering me. Once, I ended up on the roof," she finished uncertainly, knowing how odd this all must sound.

Dumbledore smiled gently at her. "Then it is magic, what you can do."

"Magic doesn't exist," snapped Mrs. Evans, putting a protective arm around Lily.

Eyes twinkling over his half-moon spectacles, Dumbledore withdrew a thin stick of wood from the pocket of his suit. Lily presumed it was a wand. Raising it, he gave it a flick. A lump of wood appeared in the hall. With another flick of the wand, the wood transformed into a small dog, which barked indignantly and spun around to stare straight at Lily. Lily stared back, too shocked to scream. Mr. and Mrs. Evans seemed to be experiencing the same dilemma. With a final flick of the wand, the dog vanished.

Lily stumbled back and leaned against the wall. "Wow," she breathed. "So magic is actually real."

Suddenly, a door slammed open and Petunia appeared at the top of the stairs, looking as if she was going to demand what all the noise was about. As soon as she spotted Dumbledore, she rushed back into her room, banging the door shut behind her. Lily couldn't help but smile at her sister's reaction.

"So, all this really is magic," muttered Mr. Evans, looking like he couldn't believe what was happening.

Dumbledore nodded.

"We have a witch in the family," murmured Mrs. Evans, her expression mirroring her husbands.

"Please, may I go?" pleaded Lily. "I will learn how to use magic at this Hogwarts, won't I?" she asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, you will. Hogwarts is the best school of magic anywhere. You will meet many other young witches and wizards there as well."

"I could have friends," Lily whispered wonderingly. Her parents expressions softened at the look of awe on their daughter's face.

"Well," Mr. Evans began slowly, "If you really want to go, Lily, and if it will help you, I suppose."

"Thank you!" cried Lily, jumping with excitement. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"If you would like, I can help you find all the supplies you will need," Dumbledore offered.

After exchanging an uncertain look, Mr. and Mrs. Evans nodded. "Thank you," said Mrs. Evans. "This is all so extraordinary. We are very grateful to you." After arranging where and when to meet, Dumbledore gave a smile and a bow, then turned on the spot and disappeared.

For several moments, no one knew what to say. Then Lily let out a shout of delighted laughter. She threw her arms around her mother, then ran to hug her father. He lifted her high in the air, smiling exuberantly as he spun her around in a circle.

"I'm a witch! I'm a witch! I'm a witch!" she shouted as he set her down. Finally, she tore open her letter and pulled out a piece of parchment.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (_Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sore., Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September first. We await your owl by no later than July thirty-first.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Eyes shining, Lily lowered the letter. She was going to a school for magic. She would learn how to use and control her powers. Maybe, she would even have friends. She was about to enter a whole new world.

Outside a large manor house many miles away, an eleven-year-old boy had just taken an envelope from a brown barn owl. Eyes blazing with excitement, he tore open the envelope and pulled out the enclosed letter. After glancing over it briefly, he let out a shout of delight and ran inside the spacious house. "Mum!" he bellowed, running down the long halls.

"Yes? What is it, James?" A pretty, smiling woman looked up as James rushed into the kitchen.

"Look!" he cried, thrusting the envelope into her hands. "Look, look, look!"

Smiling widely, she examined the letter. "Oh, James, this is wonderful. Your acceptance letter to Hogwarts! Just wait until your father gets home and sees this. We'll have to go to Diagon Alley soon to get your supplies."

James headed for the fireplace in the living room, fully intending to go straight to his father's office and tell him.

"No, James," his mother warned. "You can show him when he gets home."

James sighed impatiently. Then, brightening, he exclaimed, "I'm so glad it finally came! I've been waiting and waiting all summer. Do you think I can bring my broom?"

His mother shook her head indulgently. "First years aren't allowed to bring brooms, dear. Maybe you'll get on the Quidditch team, though," she added to appease him. "And you'll take flying lessons, too. You'll learn all about the different ways to use magic, you're really going to enjoy it."

James nodded, so excited he didn't know what to say or do next. He had heard about Hogwarts all his life, and he wanted to go now!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter. It's all J. K. Rowling's!

CHAPTER TWO

"So, where is this Leaky Cauldron place," Mr. Evans asked, staring around in bewilderment.

"It's right there, Dad," Lily answered, pointing at a tiny, grubby-looking pub. "Come on." Grabbing his hand, she tugged him inside the pub. Her mother followed, looking perplexed, and then astonished when they entered the dark, dingy room.

"But," Mr. Evans began, stopping when he spotted Dumbledore, who was talking to the middle-aged bartender. Dumbledore spotted them and nodded in greeting. Approaching, he greeted the three of them, then led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

"Here we are," he said as he counted the bricks in the wall. Finding the appropriate brick, he tapped it three times with his wand and stepped back.

Lily's mouth fell open in amazement as the brick he had touched quivered. In the middle, a small hole appeared and grew wider and wider. A second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight. "How?" murmured Lily, then shook her head. She should have learned by now that in the Wizarding world, anything was possible.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling over his half-moon spectacles. They stepped through the archway. Lily looked quickly over her shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons-All Sizes-Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver-Self-Stirring-Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.

"We can buy one after we get you some money," said Dumbledore.

"We have money," objected Mr. Evans.

Dumbledore laughed. "I'm talking about Wizarding money, gold and silver. There are seventeen silver Sickles to a gold Galleon and twenty-nine bronze Knuts to a Sickle."

Lily wished she had several more eyes. She turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once. The stores, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping, they were all so fascinating. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, looking at a list with her small son. A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium-Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of around Lily's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Lily heard one of them say, "the new racing broom, fastest ever." There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Lily had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon.

"This is Gringotts," said Dumbledore. They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was a strange creature Lily had never seen before in her life. "That is a goblin," murmured Dumbledore as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Lily. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them. Enter, stranger, but take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed, For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours, Thief you have been warned, beware of finding more than treasure there.

"You would be mad to try to rob this bank," Dumbledore told them. "Hogwarts is the only place that is safer."

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Dumbledore, Lily, and her parents made for the counter. Once they found a free goblin, Lily's parents exchanged some of their money for gold, silver and bronze coins. Smiling happily, Lily turned a gold Galleon in her fingers. Her parents also opened an account to put some money in for Lily, which delighted her. Finally, they left the bank and emerged back onto Diagon Alley.

"Let's get your uniform," said Mrs. Evans, who had Lily's supply list. They headed toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. "Hogwarts, dear?" she said when Lily entered. "Got the lot here." Madam Malkin stood Lily on a stool in the back of the shop, slipped a long robe over her head, and began to pin it to the right length. When she had finished, Lily hopped off the stool and paid for the robes.

Next, they stopped to buy parchment and quills. Lily got very excited when she found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, Lily spotted a store called Quality Quidditch Supplies. Turning to Dumbledore, she asked, "What's Quidditch?"

"It's the Wizarding sport. Everyone follows it, and it's played up in the air on broomsticks. There are four balls and seven players."

"Oh," murmured Lily, trying to absorb all this information.

They bought Lily's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather, books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk, books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Lily spotted one called _Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More)_ by Professor Vindictus Viridian. She saw another one called Hogwarts, A History, which her parents bought for her along with her other books. After that, they got a cauldron, a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Lily wished she could have gotten the gold cauldron she'd spotted, but it had said pewter on her list. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor. Jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls. Bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Dumbledore asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients, Lily examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes for five Knuts a scoop. Finally, they went to buy Lily's wand, the part she was looking forward to most.

This shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair. Lily felt strange. She swallowed a lot of new questions and reached for her father's hand. As they waited, she looked at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of her neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Lily jumped and spun around. A man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hello," said Lily uncertainly. "I'm Lily Evans."

The man scrutinized Lily carefully, as if he was trying to remember if he had seen her before. Finally, he smiled and shook her hand. "Hello, Albus," he said, turning to Dumbledore. "Very nice to see you again."

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander. It is good to see you as well," responded Dumbledore.

Turning back to Lily, Mr. Ollivander asked, "Which is your wand arm?"

"Um, I'm right handed," Lily answered, confused.

Nodding, Mr. Ollivander fetched a tape measure with silver markings. "The wand chooses the wizard," he told Lily. "Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Lily from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and around her head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss Evans. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another witch or wizard's wand."

Lily swallowed nervously. Magic was turning out to be quite complicated. Mr. Ollivander had begun flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes while the tape measure worked on its own. "That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Miss Evans. Try this one. Holly and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

Feeling a little awkward, Lily did as she was told. Nothing happened. Her heart plummeted. Did this mean she wasn't actually a witch?

Shaking his head, Mr. Ollivander took the wand back. "It may take a few tries," he reassured Lily. "Let's see about this one. Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite flexible."

As Lily raised the wand, it let out a bang. With a squeak of surprise, Lily stepped back while her parents let out anxious exclamations.

Mr. Ollivander snatched the wand back. "Here." He pushed another wand into her hand. "Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow and unicorn hair. Nice wand for charm work."

She felt a sudden warmth in her fingers. Raising the wand above her head, she brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Her parents clapped and Mr. Ollivander nodded. "Definitely a match. Very good."

After they paid seven gold Galleons for the wand, Mr. Ollivander bowed them out of the shop. As they passed Eeylops Owl Emporium again, Lily asked, "What are owls used for?"

"Sending letters," Dumbledore answered.

"Letters?" queried Lily. He nodded, amused. "Mum, Dad, may I please have an owl?" pleaded Lily.

Mrs. Evans nodded. "It would be wonderful if you could write to us from school."

Entering the shop, Lily looked around. Finally, she spotted a beautiful snowy owl. Pointing to it, she asked, "Could I have this one, please?" Nodding, her parents agreed.

Happily, Lily followed them out of the shop, down the alley and back into the Leaky Cauldron. The sun was beginning to set. Lily couldn't stop smiling. She had all her supplies, and most importantly, she had a wand. Now she was ready to go to school and learn magic!

As Lily was leaving Diagon Alley, James Potter was paying for his own wand. It was made of mahogany and dragon heartstring, was eleven inches long and pliable. Quite powerful, too, and excellent for transfiguration. James ran his fingers over it as he and his parents left the shop. "With this wand, I'm going to be the best at Transfiguration," he boasted. "And I'll be good at Defense Against the Dark Arts. I bet I can get on the Quidditch team, too."

Mr. and Mrs. Potter exchanged amused glances at their son's enthusiasm. "Don't get too confident," laughed Mr. Potter, putting his arm around his son's shoulders. "You've got a lot to learn. I'm sure you'll do well, just don't assume you know everything already."

James nodded impatiently. "I know, Dad. Do you think I'll be in Gryffindor, like you and Mum?"

"I hope so, but if you're not, it isn't the end of the world."

"Just as long as I'm not in Slytherin," muttered James, grimacing. Mr. Potter shot him a warning look, but James just grinned at him.

"Let's get some ice cream before we go," proposed Mr. Potter. James nodded and ran ahead, his heart racing with excitement. This year was going to be incredible!

A/N: Hi, everyone! As you've probably guessed, this is my first fanfic. I'm still figuring out how the web site works, which is why I didn't have any author's notes on the last chapter. Obviously, this story will be about Lily and James from when they started Hogwarts until they died. However, I'm going to make a few changes. I know Snape was in love with Lily, and I'm going to respect that, but in my version, Snape never has the courage to come up to Lily until they start school. During their years at Hogwarts, they will be little more than casual acquaintances. Lily neither likes nor hates Snape, which makes her relationship with James a bit more friendly. I think that part of the reason Lily despised James so much was because he bullied Snape. Since she and Snape are not friends in this fanfic, she won't hate him as much, just think he's an "arrogant git". Who knows, maybe she'll be slightly amused by him. So, please review and tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling, especially the paragraphs taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I, sadly, own nothing.

A/N: Hi, everyone! I am so sorry it has taken me this long to update. I've been so busy that I haven't had any time to think of updating. Hopefully, I will be able to update more frequently.

CHAPTER THREE

Lily paused and examined King's Cross station with wide eyes.

"What platform is it?" asked her father, looking around the station as if he expected the platform to pop into existence at any moment.

Silently, Lily handed him her ticket, knowing the information written upon it was crazy.

He stared at it blankly for several seconds, then shrugged, bemused. "It must be a mistake."

"What does it say?" asked Mrs. Evans curiously, trying to look over her husband's shoulder. He showed her the ticket, and as she looked at it, she, too, grew confused. "Platform nine and three quarters? There's no such thing!"

Petunia, who had been forced to join them, albeit unwillingly, let out a snort of disgust, muttering unintelligibly under her breath.

Slowly, they made their way to the barrier between platforms nine and ten, thinking that perhaps the meaning of the ticket would become obvious once they were in between the two platforms.

Had the ticket been printed incorrectly? Lily wondered. And if so, how could she get to Hogwarts? What if the whole thing was a big joke after all? No, it couldn't be! She'd seen magic with her own eyes, she knew it was real. A mistake had been made, that was all. Things would work out right in the end. Or would they?

As they approached, Lily was distracted from her frantic thoughts when she spotted an older boy leaning against the barrier. He gave a surreptitious glance around, making sure no one was watching him, before leaning further into the barrier. Lily stared, fascinated, but her view was blocked by a portly man strolling past the boy. She frowned, waiting impatiently for the man to pass and give her an unobstructed view of the boy who was behaving so curiously. Finally, the man was gone and Lily could clearly see the barrier.

Lily stared, blinked, then rubbed her eyes. She looked again, but the boy was no longer there. He had just... disappeared.

Lily gasped, attracting her parents attention.

"What is it, Lily?" asked Mrs. Evans.

"T-That boy," stammered Lily, shocked and more than a little disturbed by what she had witnessed. "He, he just vanished into thin air!"

"What?" demanded Mr. Evans in disbelief, but, on a hunch, Lily had already grabbed the trolley that held her trunk and owl and took off toward the barrier. As she ran, she didn't think about what would happen if her theory proved to be incorrect. Would she just be able to run straight through the barrier? She had to be able to! The boy had, hadn't he? She ignored the angry, bewildered shouts of her parents, focusing all of her energy on what lay before her.

After a few seconds, Lily opened her eyes and stared in disbelief. King's Cross Station was gone. Instead, she faced a scarlet steam engine waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Looking behind her, she saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. She had done it. She had reached Platform Nine and Three-Quarters!

Raging with curiosity, Lily took a closer look at her surroundings. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between people's legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and scraping of heavy trunks.

A gasp announced the arrival of Petunia and Lily's parents, who had rushed through the barrier after her. "This is unbelievable," murmured Mrs. Evans, staring around with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"Young lady, don't you dare ever do anything like that again!" lectured Mr. Evans, putting his arm around his daughter and pulling her close to his side. "You nearly gave your mother and me a heart attack."

"I'm sorry," Lily apologized, "But I just had to see if I was right. I had this—oh, I don't know—feeling that if I ran at the barrier, I could get through it."

Mr. Evans shook his head, his face showing a mixture of amusement and incredulity.

"You are one perceptive little witch," laughed Mrs. Evans, running her hand through Lily's hair.

Lily gave her mother a radiant smile, almost bouncing up and down in her excitement.

Petunia just looked shocked and slightly sick.

"We have a few minutes before the train leaves," said Mr. Evans, glancing at his wristwatch. He and Mrs. Evans moved closer together while they continued to marvel at their surroundings.

"Tuney," said Lily quietly, motioning for her sister to follow her. This would be the last time she could speak to Petunia before she went off to school; it was her last chance to try to make things right between them.

She and Petunia moved a little way away from their parents, then faced each other. Lily stared at Petunia with pleading eyes. Since she had received her Hogwarts letter, Petunia had shunned her and acted as though Lily didn't exist. Outwardly, she refused to accept Lily's abilities and enrollment in Hogwarts, but Lily knew better.

"You want to go, don't you?" Lily questioned bluntly.

Petunia looked dismayed and horrified. "Why on earth would I?" she hissed, turning away.

Fear filled Lily at Petunia's reaction. She could not leave until she had tried to make Petunia understand, to make her forgive Lily for being a witch, for being the one who could go to a school of magic.

"I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen." Lily caught her sister's hand and held tight to it, even though Petunia tried to pull it away. "Maybe once I'm there—no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"

"I don't want to go!" said Petunia, and she dragged her hand back out of her sister's grasp. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a-a..." Her pale eyes roved over the platform, over the cats mewling in their owners arms, over the owls fluttering and hooting at each other in cages, over the students, some already in their long black robes, loading trunks onto the scarlet steam engine or else greeting one another with glad cries after a summer apart. "You think I want to be a-a freak?"

Lily's eyes filled with tears as Petunia succeeded in tugging her hand away. How could her sister say such a thing to her? In all her life, no matter how they had quarreled, Tuney had never, ever said something so horrid. Lily was filled with hurt and distress. "I'm not a freak," she whispered. Her sister couldn't really think that, could she? "That's a horrible thing to say."

"That's where you're going," said Petunia with relish. "A special school for freaks. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."

Lily glanced toward her parents, who were looking around the platform with an air of wholehearted enjoyment, drinking in the scene. Then she looked back at her sister, and suddenly, she felt angry, angrier than she could ever remember being. This was when inexplicable things happened around her, when people's hair turned different colors, when they opened their mouths and no sound came out, or when Lily found herself on a roof or many yards away without any idea of how she had gotten there. But now Lily knew that these strange, frightening occurrences happened because of her magic. She was a witch, not a freak!

When she spoke, her voice had become low and fierce. "You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you."

Petunia turned scarlet. "Beg? I didn't beg!"

"I saw his reply. It was very kind."

"You shouldn't have read," whispered Petunia, "That was my private-how could you?" Petunia gasped. "You've been sneaking in my room!"

"No-not sneaking." Now Lily was on the defensive, uncomfortable and embarrassed at her sisters accusations, which, this time, were actually true. "I saw the envelope when I was walking by your door, and I was so surprised that someone without magic could have contacted Hogwarts that I couldn't resist looking, that's all! I guess there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of that sort of thing."

"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" said Petunia, now as pale as she had been flushed. "Freak!" she spat at her sister, and she flounced off to where their parents stood.

Lily stared after her, struggling to keep her tears at bay.

Later, Lily sat silently in a compartment, staring out the window. The train had left London several minutes ago. Her parents had wished her a good term and promised to write often as she boarded the train while Petunia just stood there, glaring silently. Lily was already missing her mother and father, and she couldn't forget what Petunia had said to her. I'm not a freak, she thought angrily. Petunia should accept me for who I am. I'm not a freak, I'm not a freak, I'm not!

The compartment door suddenly opened and a skinny boy entered. He looked rather dishevelled, with overlong black hair, a sallow complexion, and a small and stringy frame. Lily noted that he was already wearing his Hogwarts robes. He sat down across from Lily.

Oh, why couldn't he have picked somewhere else? Lily thought irritably. She just wanted to be left alone to wallow in her misery. She glanced at him briefly, trying to wipe away the tears that had refused to stop falling since she boarded the train. He seemed not to notice.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Severus Snape."

"My name's Lily Evans," she replied, feeling that she ought to be polite even if she wasn't in the mood for niceties.

"You're a first year?" queried Snape.

Lily nodded curtly, keeping her gaze focused on the countryside flashing by outside the window.

"Me, too. I can't wait to get to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed, eyes shining.

She nodded, still mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled.

"I hope we're in Slytherin," said Snape, encouraged that she had brightened a little.

"Slytherin?" One of the boys sharing the compartment, who had shown no interest at all in Lily or Snape until that point, looked around at the word. The boy was slight with black hair and hazel eyes. Unlike Snape, he had an indefinable air of having been well-cared-for, even adored.

Lily felt a tingle of awareness shoot through her when her eyes briefly met the boy's, but she couldn't decide if the feeling was good or bad; she looked away quickly, staring down at her hands clenched in her lap.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

The question was aimed at the boy lounging on the seats opposite. The boy did not smile. "My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said.

"Blimey," said the first boy, "And I thought you seemed all right!"

The other boy grinned. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

The first boy lifted an invisible sword. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad."

Snape made a small, disparaging noise, and the boy turned on him. "Got a problem with that?"

"No," said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy."

"Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected the boy across from them.

The first boy roared with laughter.

Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked at the two boys in dislike.

"I'm leaving," muttered Snape, getting up.

"See ya, Snivellus!" the boys called as the compartment door slammed.

Lily glared at them, getting up to follow Snape. "That wasn't very nice!" she spat over her shoulder.

"Wait!"

Turning, Lily glared at the boy with the untidy black hair. To her surprise, his hazel eyes softened as they met her green ones. He held out his hand. "I'm James Potter. It's nice to meet you. Trust me, you don't want to hang around with him and his lot."

The other boy nodded. "James is right. I'm Sirius Black."

Frowning, Lily took James's proffered hand. "How do you know what sort of people I want to be friends with?"

James shrugged. "You don't look like the type who spends time with Dark wizards, that's all."

Lily's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Slytherin's produced more Dark wizards than any other house," answered Sirius, his eyes shadowed. "Anyone who wants to be in Slytherin fancies the Dark Arts."

"Your whole family's been in Slytherin," countered Lily.

Sirius grimaced. "That doesn't mean I will be," he muttered, and Lily felt bad.

"Sorry," she mumbled, looking away. "But just because he wants to be in Slytherin can't make Snape bad. You really shouldn't have been so mean to him."

James rolled his eyes and lifted his hands in exasperation. "All right, have it your way. You can believe whatever you like."

The boys continued to talk while Lily returned to her seat in silence, staring at the land flying by outside the window that was growing wilder and wilder the farther north they traveled.

"What house do you want to be in, Lily?" James asked abruptly, distracting her from her gloomy thoughts.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

Sirius scrutinized her thoughtfully. "You're Muggle born, aren't you?" he asked.

She gave him a politely puzzled look.

"A Muggle is someone without magic," he elaborated.

"Oh, I suppose I am Muggle born then," Lily said, feeling suddenly worried. Would this make her an outcast in the Wizarding world, like she had been in the Muggle one?

James grinned. "Cool. Being Muggle born isn't bad. There are lots of them."

Lily felt relieved. The boys were being nice right now, but she didn't know what to make of them. Both of them, especially James, seemed rather cocky and arrogant, a trait that Lily had never liked. But maybe they could be nice sometimes, she surmised hopefully. She was desperate to finally make friends and be like everyone else; these dreams had alluded her her entire life, but perhaps they would finally come true.

Around half past noon, the compartment door opened and a smiling witch entered. "Anything off the trolley?" she asked them.

The boys leaped up immediately.

Lily, who had just begun to notice her hunger, followed them out into the corridor, wondering what sort of sweets she could get. To her surprise, she had never heard of any of the candy the woman had. There were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Lily had never seen before.

"Get some of everything," Sirius advised.

Lily did as he suggested, interested in trying the unique sweets.

Back in the compartment, Lily examined her purchases with slight trepidation. Finally, she decided she'd be safe with a pumpkin pasty.

"Have a Chocolate Frog," James suggested.

Uncertainly, Lily opened a pack of Chocolate Frogs. As she pulled one out, a card fell out as well.

"What's this?" she asked, picking it up.

"Chocolate Frogs have cards of famous witches and wizards inside them to collect," explained James.

"I've got loads," added Sirius.

James nodded in agreement. "Who did you get?" he asked.

"Dumbledore," she answered, looking at the picture of Dumbledore's face on the card. His name was written underneath the picture.

The boys laughed.

"I've got about ten of him," explained Sirius.

Flipping over the card, Lily read what was on the back.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

Wow, Lily thought in amazement. There was so much to the Wizarding world she had never known existed. Dragons? Dark wizards? She shook her head in wonderment.

Turning the card back over, Lily saw, to her astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. "He's gone!" she exclaimed, catching the attention of both Sirius and James.

"Well, of course, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Sirius. "He'll be back."

So, people in Wizarding pictures moved. How fascinating!

Opening another Chocolate Frog, Lily found that this time she had gotten the witch Morgana. Intrigued, she continued eating Chocolate Frogs, wanting to collect more cards.

As the afternoon wore on, Lily's melancholy faded as her excitement grew. She couldn't wait to see what Hogwarts was like! She hadn't had a chance to read Hogwarts, A History since she'd bought it, so she had no idea what to expect. The boys didn't seem to know much, either, although they had a better idea than Lily.

Looking out the window, Lily saw that the neat fields had been replaced with woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. As time passed, it began to get dark. Mountains and forests appeared under a deep purple sky.

"The train's slowing down," Sirius commented. He and James had been wandering in and out of the compartment throughout the afternoon. When they wandered out again, Lily quickly changed into her robes. Sirius was right, they were slowing down.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the train, "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Lily's heart began to pound, and she felt her hands shaking. This was it; she was about to see Hogwarts! Trying to keep her anxiety from showing, she moved into the hallway where the rest of the students had begun to gather.

As the train finally pulled to a stop, people pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. The night air was chilly, and Lily shivered, pulling her black cloak tighter around her.

A lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and a deep, gruff voice called out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

Lily looked in the direction of the voice, and her heart leaped into her mouth. A giant of a man was standing at the end of the platform, lantern swinging in one enormous hand that had to be the size of a trash can lid. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but his eyes could just be seen, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. "C'mon, follow me—any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" the giant called again.

Shaking with nerves, Lily forced herself to hurry along behind the other first years. Slipping and stumbling, they made their way down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. Judging by the darkness on either side of them, Lily thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o` Hogwarts in a sec," the immense man called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

Lily, along with everyone else, gasped in astonishment.

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle, bigger than Lily had previously thought possible. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, with its soaring turrets and towers so high they almost seemed to touch the stars shining like little points in the inky dark sky.

"No more'n four to a boat!" the man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.

Lily scrambled into a nearby boat along with the boy Snape from the train, another boy she did not know, and a friendly looking girl with curly blond hair. "Hello," she greeted Lily brightly. "My name's Mary Macdonald."

"I'm Lily Evans," Lily smiled, shaking the girls hand. Lily liked her immediately.

"Everyone in?" shouted the giant, who had a boat to himself. "Right then—FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" called the giant as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They moved along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. Then they stumbled up a passageway in the rock, following the light from the lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? All right, then!" The giant raised an enormous fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter. If so, please review and let me know what you think. Also, if any of you have ideas of character names or potential pranks that the Marauders could perform—that will be coming up in future chapters—I would love to hear what you think. I'm open to suggestions about what direction the plot could go in, too.

Thank you!


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